Mayangrl Errata

The Man and I are on the outs and outs, and it is likely the end of an era. 

Where to begin?  It comes back to, IMHO, cultural differences.  (Mr. Man is Palestinian, if you remember.) Arab men are similar to Mexican men, so I was aware of how to "handle" him.  But they have a bigger sense of honor than I'm used to, either as a Mexican or certainly as an American.  So, I hurt his honor, unknowingly of course.  He then refused to talk to me, since I wasn't saying the "right things" in the messages I was leaving. Games.  Tell me what's wrong.  Silience (ie, you should know).

Fast forward a month a half, and we have talked and texted but a few times.  He's playing games (at his advanced age even!), and will not talk to me unless I grovel a sufficient amount, which I'm not going to do.  If you care about someone YOU AT LEAST TALK TO THEM!  He texts me an excuse:  "I've been busy.  I was in Reno."  Hmmm, so that's why you haven't talked to me since 9/20!  Oh, I get it!  Silly me!

I have apologized to him more times than I can remember in the last two years, learning a *bit* about humility in this relationship.  He has apologized but once.  If he hurts *my* feelings, I'm *too sensitive,* but  If I make him mad or "humiliate" him, I'm insensitive! 

I will miss him tremendously, and I grieve over the loss of another relationship I thought was going to be around for awhile.  In spite of his not knowing how to have a serious disagreement with a lover, he was very good to me in so many ways, and I have learned much about myself.

I also had a political awakening with him that I will hold onto.  (Zionism is bad!)

I'm mad as hell, I'm lonely, I'm sad. I can't believe it will end like this-just fade into black, no goodbyes.  Maybe it will rekindle, but I now know what my bottom line is:  I don't derserve to be "punished," and I will not stand for it.

I don't know what's up with the app, because I am NOT on Hillview Terrace.  Weird.

I just downloaded the LJ app onto my iPhone, because yeah, it's so much easier to type with! Hah!

Posted via LiveJournal.app.

Last day!

Today I got up earlier than the girls, went and printed up the boarding pass, and had breakfast in the hotel restaurant.  Ruth joined me for breakfast, which was an over-priced buffet, and we chatted for awhile before I headed back to the room.  

The girls were up, and so I called David for a last minute photo-op at his work.  Luckily he was able to see us, so we walked over there.  We ran into Rosalinda and the other Laura, who very nicely served as our photographer.  We said our last goodbyes and headed over to Le Pan Whatever, to get some sandwiches for the flight.

By 11am we were on the bus on our way to Dulles, where I had another little breakdown.  The check-in process was complicated EVEN THOUGH I HAD ALREADY CHECKED IN, and it all set my nerves on edge.  Then it turns out Cindy had PACKED her ID, and so there I was speaking to her through clenched teeth in front of the agent, about being prepared and blah blah blah, thinking all the while that I was going to kill her.  Luckily he and the security card accepted her school ID, even though she has no hair in that picture.  When we got to the terminal I took Xanax and gave 1.5 to Mindy.  The flight was uneventful, and we made it to SFO safe and sound.

Overall I had a great time, and am very happy and grateful that TAH allowed me the opportunity to take my kids back to Washington DC and share some of our country's history with the girls.
 

Most of the TAH group headed to the Hart Senate Building to have "breakfast" with Dianne Feinstein.  Breakfast was just some coffee, donuts bagels and croissants, about 1 item per person.  I kid you not.  DiFi finally showed up and greeted us, acknowledging our group and quizzing us on how the government works.  Mike T. answered some questions correctly and won a little DiFi package with coffee cup, pencils, etc.  We got to hear her talk about "what's important" and what she was accomplishing in DC.  We met her staff and got to ask questions.  She was for health care reform, without being specific, and was against the Employee Free Choice Act, saying it wasn't the "right time."



I have to say, this whole thing was my idea.  I had been surfing the web a few months back and learned about her breakfasts for CA constituents, and suggested the TAH group go.  Ruth arranged the whole deal and VOILA!  We got to see DiFi in DC!

Afterwards, a few if us headed over to Union Station (close by) to have some real breakfast.

We then went back to take a tour of the Capitol Building, the tix being supplied to us by the Senator. This was ok, the intro movie was nice, and I thought, yet again, how nice it would be to have all these little movies available for use in the classroom.  We had a tour guide, who was difficult to hear because of the large size of the group.  Here's an interesting fact:  each state has two statues representing it.  The great state of California has (drumroll please) Father Junípero Serra and Ronald Reagan.  OMG!  I wanted to barf.

The girls and I ditched the others (or were ditched) and headed to the Freer Museum for the Arabic calligraphy class.  I had to drag the girls rather than let them wander because the class was aimed at children and I needed someone 14 or under, which Mindy can pass for thank goodness.  I will be able to use some of the handouts they gave us in my 7th grade World History class.  We did this for about an hour and then the girls went to the Holocaust Museum while I wandered around the Mall.  I was originally going to go to the Portrait Gallery, but I decided it was too far away, it was too hot and I was too tired.

Dinner was at Raku, an "Asian fusion bistro" in nearby Dupont Circle with Chris, her daughter Caitin, Miriam and her husband Don.  The girls irritated me at dinner, which I had a hard time concealing.  It made for a not so fun walk back to the hotel.  One more day....


Teacher Talk:
What was the most interesting thing I learned today? I guess that would be the part about the Capitol having two statues for every state.

What can I bring into the classroom from today?  This I will also have to figure out, but the calligraphy class can be used in 7th grade history.

We got a late start today because I'm getting a little burnt out on the "everything" tour.  But I'm a trooper, so we were out the door by about 9:30am.



We took the Metro to the Newseum.  According to the website, the Newseum is a place where "Visitors will come away with a better understanding of news and the important role it plays in all of our lives..." "The new Newseum is educational, inspirational and a whole lot of fun." 

And indeed it is, making it completely worth the pretty penny it cost to get us in there.  For those of you who have never heard of the Newseum, the website offers this:

"The Newseum — a 250,000-square-foot museum of news — offers visitors an experience that blends five centuries of news history with up-to-the-second technology and hands-on exhibits.

The Newseum is located at the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and Sixth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C., on America’s Main Street between the White House and the U.S. Capitol and adjacent to the Smithsonian museums on the National Mall. The exterior’s unique architectural features include a 74-foot-high marble engraving of the First Amendment and an immense front wall of glass through which passers-by can watch the museum fulfill its mission of providing a forum where the media and the public can gain a better understanding of each other.

The Newseum features seven levels of galleries, theaters, retail spaces and visitor services. It offers a unique environment that takes museumgoers behind the scenes to experience how and why news is made."

Some of the highlights form the Permanent Exhibits:
*News Corporation News History Gallery:  The Story of News
*9/11 Gallery
*Pulitzer Prize Photographs Gallery
*Berlin Wall Gallery
*First Amendment Gallery
*Today's Front Pages Gallery

The best of the rotating exhibits:
*Our World at War:  Photojournalism Beyond the Front Lines
*Manhunt:  Chasing Lincoln's Killers
*G-Men and Journalists


  
(The more lurid side of the media)                        (The Story of News)


  (The Berlin Gallery)


Cool exhibit on the First Amendment:

   

    

My definite favorite exhibit was the Pulitzer Prize Photographs.  I read something along the lines that good photography has the power to make you smile, laugh, cry and think.  I did all that in this exhibit.  There were photographs you likely remember:  The Vietnamese girl running away after a napalm strike left her burned and naked; the hoisting of the flag at Iwo Jima;  the girl wailing while kneeling over the dead body of a Kent State student.

The story that struck me the most was that of the starving child with the vulture waiting behind her.  Not only is the picture incredibly difficult to look at, the story of the photographer was also sad.  Kevin Carter took a lot of flack for the picture because he did not help the child, but photographers and journalists had been warned not to touch the refugees as they could have diseases.  The guilt and weight of all that he seen, plus his own personal problems, led him to kill himself a few months after receiving the Pulitzer Prize.

I spent a lot of time wandering around the exhibit, thinking about what a terrible burden so many journalists carry.

We left the Newseum and meandered around the Mall for awhile before we headed back to the hotel.

Around 5pm we walked over to L Street and met up with David S.  I last saw David in 2001, when I was in Williamsburg for a teacher institute.  He drove down to Richmond and took me to Petersburg, and Pamplin Park (Civil War stuff).  This time around he got to meet the girls.  After dinner at a nice Italian place in Alexandria,  we went and walked around Old Town for awhile.  He was really nice and gave us a ride back to the hotel rather than make us take the Metro. Yea, David!



Teacher Talk:
What was the most interesting thing I learned today? Everything about the Newseum was fascinating and worthwhile.

What can I bring into the classroom from today?  This I will have to figure out.

Today the group went to Gettysburg, my first time in the state of Pennsylvania.  (I even called Dick B. last night to tell him I was heading to his home state.) 




The bus left the hotel early, but the girls and I were up even earlier and picked up some breakfast, coffee and snacks.  I sent them on to save some "good seats" on the bus.  Well, apparently we have different definitions of what constitutes good seats, because we ended up in the very back of the bus.  Right by the toilet.  Oh, joy.  At least I was far enough way from the screens to not be bothered to watch "Gettysburg."

Anyway, we arrived in the town of Gettysburg about an hour and half after setting out.  The "battlefield" is all around the town, and you need a car to tour everything. 

We spent awhile in the visitor's center, watching a movie, seeing the Cyclorama, eating lunch and visiting the museum and gift shop.

     

At about 1:20 or so, we piled back onto the bus and were joined by a tour guide who looked very much like Don Behm ;-p  He showed us around the major battle sites, telling little stories and entertaining us.

  

 
[The girls where Pickett's Charge took place.  You're looking at what the Confederates saw when they attacked.  Right behind me (taking the photo) is a monument to the Virginia boys who fought and died there.]


Later that evening, the girls, Chris K. and I had dinner with Ruth at Thai Titanic.

Teacher Talk:
What was the most interesting thing I learned today? All of it was great, seeing where the battle happened, and the museum was very well put together.

What can I bring into the classroom from today?  I liked the museum and thought it had some great pix I can use to facilitate class discussions.  Also, I could put my pix together for a power point production.

  

In particular, I thought these two photos from the museum could be used to further foist my liberal leanings on my unsuspecting students.  Southern apologists always say that "state's rights" where at the heart of the Civil War, not slavery.  Here you have the President and Vice-President of the Confederacy pretty much saying slavery was the issue.

Happy Birthday David S., wherever you are!

Cindy was sick today and stayed behind in the hotel.  :-(

So Mindy and I set out for a day of geek museum hopping, since she tends to be more amenable to that sort of thing.  We had a few items on our list of things to see/do.

  (National Gallery of Art)

We started the day at the National Gallery of Art, looking for an exhibit on Lincoln that was to end today.  We walked around and saw a few interesting items, like Da Vinci's study of the horse, before we finally came across Lincoln.  The exhibit was on the Lincoln monument and the guy who designed it.  They had a model of the monument and a smaller statue of Lincoln.  And that was it.

I was fairly confused because I thought we were going to see something about the masks of Lincoln among other things.  We walked around some more, but that was it for Lincoln.  Later I found out we were at the wrong museum; what I had REALLY wanted was the National Portrait Gallery.  Ok, my turn to be an idiot.

We then walked over to the Museum of Natural History for a look.  Winding our way through the throngs was nearly impossible, so we made our visit quick.  Saw some stuffed animals, watched a movie on evolution and headed back out into the heat.


We caught up with Chris K. at the Museum of American History, one of my faves (surprise!).  I think the highlight there were the exhibits on Lincoln (lots of stuff on his this year, because it's the bicentennial of his birth), the presidents and slavery. 


(A reanactor playing the role of Mary Pickersgill, the woman who made the first US flag.)


  
                                                             (Lincoln's Top Hat)

At Julie's request, we took a short Metro ride to Union Station.  Here's what we were rewarded with:

                 

I have no idea how I managed to not visit this place in all my other trips to DC.  The info on Union Station says it was built to be the main entrance into DC.  Hah!  Some 100 years later, DC has grown up all around this beautiful station.  It was redone in 1988 to the tune of some $70M, but man it was worth it.  The main room is cavernous with these really cool statues standing guard.  They reminded us of the statues that the group sail by in the Lord of the Rings.  We wandered around and ended up buying some souvenirs there.

We eventually made our way back to the hotel where Cindy was feeling much better.  After resting up and stretching my aching back, we went a few blocks over and had dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant.  There were three other TAH teachers there, the group from Sebastopol.  The food was pretty good. 

 
(Mindy)                                                                 (Cindy)

Afterwards we stopped at CVS for some supplies, then back to the hotel to crash.

Teacher Talk:
What was the most interesting thing I learned today? Where do I even begin?  I love the American History Museum!

What can I bring into the classroom from today?  I liked the exhibit on the presidents:  The American Presidency:  A Glorious Burden.  The Smithsonian has an online lesson plan to use with the exhibit that I think would work well in the classroom.

Fourth of July in Our Nation's Capital!

On the Mall near the Smithsonians:

  

We started the day here at the newest (?) Smithsonian, and one that I had never been to. 




We began with lunch in the Mitsitam Native Foods Cafe.  Here's what we got for $45 (plus two desserts and a drink):

      
   

After eating our feast, we headed up and spent the next two and a half hours wandering around the museum.  Their current rotating exhibit is about Fritz Scholder.




All this museum stuff pretty much fried Cindy's brain, so being the sadist I am, I dragged the girls to the Freer Gallery to see an exhibit on Islamic art (since I teach the rise of Islam in 7th grade).


























We tried to hook up with Chris K, but they were always a step ahead of us.  We took the Metro to Arlington Cemetery. 




While there we hit the high spots:

JFK gravesite:


RFK gravesite:
       

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier:


Arlington House:


After resting up for a bit at the hotel and eating leftovers for dinner, we decided to go down near the Mall and watch the fireworks.  We got there just in time:


Taking advantage of the decent weather, and some energy, we toured the memorials by moonlight:

  

  
                                                                                     Vietnam Nurses' Memorial

   
              Vietnam Veteran's Memorial                                   Korean Memorial

By the time we were walking back to the hotel, 11:30ish, my back and legs were aching.  Luckily, there were still some TAH people in the lobby lounge, so Nancy H.'s bf bought me a much needed beer, which I downed fairly quickly with a few ibuprofen.

Then it was nighty night.


Teacher Talk:
What was the most interesting thing I learned today?  I really liked the Fritz Scholder exhibit, not only his work, but his coming to terms with his ethnicity and how it affected/influenced his art.

What can I bring into the classroom from today?  NMAI has a good website with some different lesson plans, including this one for writing;  I like the idea of writing and incorporating multi-culturalism whenever possible.  There is also a lesson for the Scholder exhibit which I may be able to use.

We were up and at 'em early this morning, in spite of having gone to bed rather late last night.  We went out, found a coffee place and bought some bagels and fruit;  then we went back to the hotel to wait for the bus to take us to Monticello.  After a SLIGHTLY late start, which afforded us the opportunity to watch a working girl try and ply her trade (pix soon!), we headed off to visit Thomas Jefferson's beloved home.   (You can find the facts on Monticello here at Wikipedia.)

The bus ride down was grueling.  Thank goodness we had food to break up the monotony, since sleeping, for me at least, was not really an option on the 10 hour ride.  Ok, it wasn't really ten hours, but it seemed like it. 

        

Upon arriving at Monticello, we were whisked into the classrooms in the new visitor center and treated to info on the house, Jefferson, the website, etc.  Lunch was then served, and we ate on the deck with (red headed) Mike who entertained us with only slightly off-color jokes.  For some odd reason, Craig was randomly quoting "Blazing Saddles," and we traded quips and quotes between the tables.



After lunch we went up to the house and had the grand tour, with Joe as our guide.  Now, this Mr. Jefferson was quite the brainiac and had lots of neat stuff in the house, which took about 40 years to complete and put his wife in her grave,  I think.

     

Some interesting facts I learned on our visit:
*Jefferson was diddling Miss Sally after Martha died (I thought it happened while she was still alive)
*Only two of his kids, both daughters, made it to adulthood
*The clock on the front of the house has no minute hand, since Jefferson felt that all anyone had to know was what hour it was.



*(I vaguely remember having read this before) Jefferson wanted to be remembered for three things: